Golf club



J. A. DIENNER.

GOLF CLUB.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-30.1919.

1, 12 8,15. PatentedSept. 5, 1922.

Patented Sept. 5, 1922.

v UNITED, STATES JOHN A. DIENNER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

GOLF CLUB.

,Application filed August 30, 1919. Serial No. 320,920.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JOHN A. DIENNER, acitizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county'of Cookand State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in- Golf Clubs, of which the followingis a full, clear,concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of this specification.

- My invention relates to golf clubs and other playing clubs or bats.

The primary object of my invention is to provide an improved golf club,peculiarly adapted for instruction purposes. The particular utility ofthis club lies in the fact that it is self-instructive of the correctmode of swinging a club. If swung properly, the club has a feel orbalance similar to that of any ordinary golf club, but if swungimproperly the club instantly feels unnatural and unwieldly and thusindicates that the swing has been improperly made. The valueof such aclub to the novice, or to the experienced golfer who is endeavoring tocorrect a faulty swing, will at once be apparent. It is to be understoodthat "though the club is primarily intended for instruction purposes, itmay be used for general .playing as well.

The first rudiment in the philosophy of swinginga golf club lies inobtaining pure impact between thehead of the club and the ball, whollydevoid of any push or pull transmitted through the club shaft. Acharacteristic fault is to transmit a pushing effort through the shaftto the head of the club, due to various causes, principally to aninstinctive contraction'or stiffening of the wrists during the downwardswing of the club.

Another characteristic fault is the failure to properly roll the wristsin bringing the club back over the shoulder in the beginning of thestroke. This is also attributable to an unnatural and undesirablestiffeningof the wrists, or to an incomplete arm movement, both of whichtend to produce a stiff-arm swing of the club.

According to my invention I lnterpose a relatively flexible section inthe shaft of the club WhlCh prevents the transmission of a pushing'efio'rt to the club head. I am aware that the provision of thisflexible section has been heretofore proposed for other purposes. thanthose above described, but in these prior experiments all control of theclub head has been sacrificed to obtain flexibility in the club. shaft.The present embodiment is distinctive from these prior experiments fromthe fact that theincreased flexibility is only effective in one plane ofthe shaft, and thus the required rigidity and stiffness of the shaft forcontrolling the club head are unimpaired by the provision of thisflexible section. The plane of flexibility of the shaft is in the planeof impact with theball, so that the club is incapable of transmittingpushing effort through the shaft-in accordance with one of the primaryobjects of the club. Furthermore, if the wrists are-not rolled properlyWhen swinging the club back over the shoulder in beginning the stroke,the plane of flexibility 0f the club will coincide with the motion ofthe club and result in the vibration or flexing of the club head out ofline with the shaft, which will be instantly apparent by an unwieldyfeeling of the club. This action is analogous to that of a weight havingits motion initiated or arrested through a vibratory stem. In swingingthe club down from across the shoulder in the initial part of thestroke,the wrists should be rolled gradually to bring the club face intoposition for contact with the ball. The provision of the flexiblesection in the club insures that this motion of rolling the wrists shallbe gradual in order that the head of the club shall have opportunity togain the inertia of the shaft before. the flexible section comes intoposition for flexure. Thus the golfer soon cultivates an instinctiverolling of the wrists to just the proper degree, which is determined bythat point where he feels no bobbing influence of the club head on'theend of the shaft.

The action of the club and the construction of the flexible section willbe more apparent from the accompanying drawing wherein T haveillustrated a preferred embodiment of my improved golf club.-

Figure 1 is an elevational view of an iron club constructed inaccordance with my inventlon;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the clubillustrating the flexible section; and

Figure 3 is a. similar View of a modified construction of flexiblesection.

\ 4 with the shaft 1.

reticulated steel, and is provided with the leather hand grip 2. On thelower end of the club is mounted the head 3, which is formed with anintegral neck or socket extension 4.

The flexible section, which is broadly designated 5, is arranged toconnect the socket As shown in section in Figure 2, this flexiblesection comprises a plurality of leafsprings 6, which are disposedsubstantially parallel with the face of the club and are secured in thesocket extension 4 and in the lower portion of the. shaft 1 asillustrated. In the present instance I have shown threeleaf s1: Sings 6,but it will be obvious that the number of these springs can be varieddepending upon the thickness of the spring and the weight and utility ofthe club head. These springs prefenably consist of short sections ofthin, fiat spring steel of a width substantially equal to the thicknessof the shaft 1. The upper'ends of the spring 6 are rigidly secured .tothe end .of the shaft 1 against angular motion by slottin springs inthis slot. The slotted end of the shaft 1 is reinforced by a ferrule 7,which has an inwardly extending flange 8 extending over the lower end ofthe shaft. Two

rivets or pins 9 are passed through holes in the wood shaft and in thespring leaves 6, and are headed over on the outside of the ferrule 7 asindicated at 11. y

The lower ends of the leaf springs 6 are rigidly imbedded againstangular motion in a filler 12, of wood, rubber, or any other preferredmaterial which is set into the socket portion 4 of the club head 3. Asillustrated in Figure 1, the spring leaves 6 are made slightly taperingin width to enable the lower ends of the springs to be inserted into therelatively small socket portion 4. The filler 12 is slotted similarly tothe shaft 1, and the springs are retained in the slot by transverserivets or pins 14 which pass through holes in the filler and in thesprings, and are headed over on the outside of the socket 4. It will benoted that the holes provided in the two outermost springs 6 are oflongitudinalslot formation, as indicated at 15 and 16, while the holesin the center leaf spring 6' are of the same size as the pins 9 and 14,andfit snugly about the same. As a result of thisconstruction, thecentral leaf spring 6' functions to securely tie the club head to theshaft against longitudinal play, while the two side springs 6 havefreedom for-sliding motion along the central spring 6 during the flexureof the springs. The springs have a snug fit. in the slotted end the endof the shaft and pinning the' of the shaft 1 and in the filler 12 sothat they are in firm engagement with the shaftand with the head at alltimes. It will be apparcut that this laminated series of springs willpermit a certain degree of flexing of the club head in a planetransverse to the face of the club, but will effectually resist anytendency of the club head to flex outwardly or rearwardly from the axisof the shaft 1. Though the preferred construction is to dispose thespring flatwise to the club face, it will be obvious that they may beinclined slightly to the club face if desired While I have shown thelower ends of the springs 6 and 6' as mounted .in the socket 4, it is tobe understood that the flexible se c-. tion 5 may lie higher up on theclub and may be inserted in the wooden shaft if desired, as this is amatter of choice.

In Figure 3 I have shown a modified arrangement of'the leaf springswhich com- 7 in the bodyof the shaft, is a structural point which ran bevariedto secure the most efficient action in the. club. In referring tothe shaft in the appended claims, it shall be understood that I havereference to that portion of the shaft above the flexible section 5'.The upper section of shaft 18 is provided with a plurality of parallelslots 21 into which are inserted the ends of a series of. spaced leafsprings 22. The lower section of shaft 19 is similarly provided with aplurality, of slots 23 in which are secured a co,- operating seriesofspaced leaf springs 24. Bothsets of springs 22 and 24 are rigidly heldin their respective shaft sections-by pins or rivets 25 which passthrough ferrules 26 on the ends of the shaft sections. The two sets ofsprings are meshed, with a spring of one se; i es between adjacentspaced springs of the other series so that the springs, extending fromthe two sections of shaft are in alternating relation in the assembledflexible section. In the center of the assembled series of springs 22and 24 isdisposed a relatively long spring'27 which functions to tie thetwo sections of shaft together against rules 26, preferably by ayieldable packing 28 of rubber or any other suitable material. By thisarrangement the two series of. springs have entire freedom of slidingmotion one upon the other, during the flexing of the spring section 5,,and also have firm con- 7 nection with the shaft sections.

The peculiar and novel action of the club obtained by the insertion ofthe characteristic form of flexible connection between the shaft andhead of the club has been previously described. The ability of theflexible section to flex in the plane of impact obviates the undesirabletendency of some golfers to impart a push to the ball, and

makes it imperative that the stroke or swing be properly made so thatthe inertia in the club head alone shall be suflicient to drive theball. The ability of the flexible section to bend only in the plane ofimpact and not in any other direction always 'retains the club headunder the control of the shaft, in so far as angle of direction, orinward or outward position of the club head with respect to the shaft isconcerned. By plane of impact it shall be understood that I mean thatplanein which the motion of the club head is transmitted to the ball.and which extends substantially-at right angles to the face of the club.This characteristic ability of the flexible section to flex in the planeof impact also has the very important function of requiring that thegolfer roll the shaft properly when bringing the club back over theshoulder and when starting the downward swing. In these positions of theclub the flexible section should be at such an angle as to present thesprings edgewise to the plane of motion of the club, which cor-'responds to the correct position of the club head. If the club is turnedso that the springs are fiat-wise to the plane of motion of the clubthere is immediately felt a bobbing tendency in the club shaft producedby the vibratory play of the club head.

While I have described the invention par! "ticularly as embodied in agolf club, it is r to be understood that the-invention may be applied togood advantage to playing clubs or bats such as tennis racquets,baseball bats, and the like.

I claim:

1. In a golf club, the combination of a head, a shaft, a flexiblesection between said shaft and said head, said flexible sectioncomprising a plurality of spring leaves, said leaves having relativesliding motion, one upon the other.

2. In a golf club, the combination of a head, a shaft, a flexibleconnection between said shaft and said head, said flexible connectioncomprising a plurality of leaf springs, one of said springs" beingrigidly connected to said shaft and to said head, the other of saidsprings being slidable relative to said first spring.-

3. In a golf club, the combination of a head, a shaft, a flexiblesection between said head and said shaft, said flexible sectioncomprising a first leaf sprin pins for rigidly securing the ends of saileaf spring to said shaft and to said head, and secondary leaf springsco-operating with said first leaf spring having slotted connection withsaid pins to permlt relative sliding motion between said springs.

4. An instruction golf club for teaching the proper swinging of suchimplements comprising, in combination, a head of conventional design, ashaft of conventional design, and a connection between said head andshaft sufficiently flexible to permit the a two-piece club, but capableof holding the head when properly swung to constitute in effect aone-piece club.

In witness whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this 13th day of August,A. D.

- JOHN aDIENNEn

